Gambling Man
by SuicidalToeSocks
Summary: A few intense games of billiards at the Game Corner, in which Lyra is the winner every time, cause Silver to accept her next challenge. But nothing can ever be a simple game between the rivals, and the stakes are raised to make the game interesting...


**A/N: I don't know the preferred name for this ship, I've seen a few. Either way, it's still Silver/Lyra. This also includes an actual game corner, not that mini game crap table they put in now.**

**Blake, don't read it, this is not very good and I don't want you reading it and going "FFFF Khepri's writing has gone down the crapper, hasn't it?" **

The minute he accepted a game with her, Silver knew he was in for a long night. Why he accepted a game with her was something even he didn't know. He'd seen her play, watched her from across the room. She played with men three times her size and was the one to get the last laugh in the end as she racked up the points and announced to them that they had just lost to a little girl. He had wondered, while slumped against a wall in the Game Corner, where she lad learned to play so well when she came from a small town that was hardly worthy of being on the Johto map.

Maybe that was why he had accepted her billiard challenge, he thought. She was good, he was good, and he was very curious to see how she would measure up to him. He chalked up his cue as she lined up the balls in the middle of the table, then lifted the triangle slowly. He averted his eyes. She was fifteen now, if he remembered correctly. It was by sheer chance they had met in Goldenrod like this, and he was not about to entertain the fact that he also might have been roped into the game to talk some more to her, to find out what had happened to her over the last few years. He didn't care.

He _didn't care_, he reminded himself again for good measure as she stood back, cue in hand, and made a sweeping gesture toward the table. "Ladies break first," she said with some sort of mocking little grin. He narrowed his eyes at her, muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "No wonder you can't do it, then," and took his position at the end of the table to take his shot. Her smile stayed put perfectly and she leaned against the pool table on one hip, arms folded, watching him take the first shot. It kind of unnerved him a little, to have her watching him so intently. It wasn't as if she didn't have a whole room full of gambling men to stare at. And from the poor game of darts being played by a group of drunken sailors in the corner of the room, she definitely had a few more amusing things to look at as well.

"Are you gonna break or stare at the cue ball all day?" she asked, just as he snapped his thoughts away and was about to hit the little white ball. He ground his teeth and stood up to his full height, glaring over at her.

"Are you going to let me play my game or stare at me all day?" he countered. She merely shrugged.

"I'm making sure you don't cheat," she replied. He glared at her, but turned back to the table where a white cue ball and a rainbow array of stripes and solids, arranged in a triangle, were waiting for him on the green felt. Cheat? Him? He didn't cheat at _anything_. At least, not anymore, but he never cheated at billiards. Unless he was losing _badly_.

The cue ball shot forward, the balls broke, and the game officially began. Lyra took her cue, leaned over the table, and inspected what shot she could take to make the most of the mess he'd created for her to clean up just now.

"You know, I generally like to play _for_ something," she said casually aloud as she moved about different angles from the cue ball's point of view. "It makes the game interesting. I wasn't about to humiliate those other guys more than I had to, of course, but I've heard you've got a fair reputation with this game." She settled on a position, leveled her cue, and announced "Blue stripe in the corner pocket," and took her shot. The ball went in smoothly before Silver had time to blink. "So, what to you say?"

He blinked, trying to clear his head. What had just happened? "What do I say to what?"

"To making the game a little more interesting? Playing for keeps?" She walked around to the other end of the table, in front of him, and knelt down to see how another shot would play out, and if she had any open ones still.

Of course, wagering a small game of billiards was really no problem for a good trainer, who made more than enough in battles to last months without a worry. At most, it would set Silver back three battles, which was nothing he couldn't handle. And Lyra, who had bested him in every battle they had shared, would certainly have no qualms if she lost instead. He nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

She leaned over the table and his eyes, against his better judgment, immediately followed the slight curve of her slim frame. She was, by no means, built like a beauty. She was small, athletic from running around everywhere and climbing over ledges and through caves. She would never have the figure of a girl who opted out of the pokemon adventuring to work as a receptionist in a museum or radio tower or something. But as he looked, he couldn't help but appreciate her. She wouldn't look right if she had the figure of one of those other girls. He sidled up next to her, hip-to-hip, and leaned in on one hand.

"What are the odds then, Pretty?"

Lyra's cue skewed off in some direction, entirely missing the ball. She stood abruptly and glared at him, her eyes telling him that she clearly wanted to impale him on her cue.

"Don't call me 'Pretty,' got it?" she said, then backed away from the table. "And thank you so much for distracting me, now I scratched. Your turn."

He didn't feel bad for distracting her. In fact, the word had just spilled out before he could stop it, but he wasn't about to let her know that. He was glad it had taken her shot away, though, because he had a clear shot to sink two balls from where he was. He lined up his cue, announced "Red in the side pocket and yellow in the corner," and shot his ball, which sent both targets into their respective destinations. He stood and tried to ignore Lyra's stunned face, but couldn't help but whistle a merry little tune as he walked around the table and lined up another shot.

"I'm thinking just your general wagering," Lyra said when her voice started working again. "We can get someone around here to keep score if you want."

"I can keep score myself, thank you," Silver replied. He didn't have a very clear shot, but if he hit the green ball at the right angle...

"So tell me what's been going on since we last met, Silver," she said, just as he was about to hit the cue ball. He sighed and pulled back, shaking his head

"Lyra, you know it's cheating when you try to time what you're saying right before I hit my ball, don't you?" he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued, "And before you say that I did it first, that was completely on accident. How was I supposed to know you get flustered when someone compliments you?"

"I don't get flustered!" she replied in a somewhat louder and higher-pitched voice, making a few of them men who had played her earlier turn to see what was going on with her. "You just caught me off-guard is all!"

"Did I?" Silver bent over again to take his shot. "Well then, I'm sorry for catching you off-guard. But you sure are cute when you're embarrassed, did you know that?" He glanced up at her and saw her face was as red as the bow on her hat. He hit the cue ball and it didn't hit the green ball he was aiming for, instead nailing one of hers and sending it ricocheting off across the table. He stood up with a sigh. "Oh well, it's your turn."

Still red, Lyra moved around to the ball and checked for a shot, doing her best to ignore the onlookers their game was starting to attract. Silver leaned over on the other side of the table. She glanced up at him, daring him to say something else, and returned to the game. He took the dare.

"So maybe you don't get flustered at compliments, just when someone dashingly attractive like myself says them to you?" He smirked when he saw her face get redder, even though she refused to look up at him. "That's it, isn't it?" Her red face darkened, and he was a little surprised. He'd just been teasing, of course, but she was acting as if it were true... "So Lyra, does this mean you have a little–"

"Don't say it," she growled through gritted teeth. "Green stripe in the side pocket." She made her shot, sank the ball, and stood up to face him. "You know what you said about cheating?" she hissed, walking around the table to stand directly in front of him, "This counts. You're purposely psyching me out so I'll be off my game. I want this to be played fairly, so shut up or I'll bring my pokemon into it, which I know I'll win at, and wipe the floor with you that way. Got it?"

Silver backed away, palms up as a sign of peace. "Hey, chill! It's only a game, Lyra," he said. "But if my compliments are really getting to you, then I'll stop. I wonder why you'd prefer a moody and quiet rival over a friendly one, though." He pointed to the pool table. "Your second shot is waiting, Miss."

She walked around to the other side of the table and shoved some mountain climber out of the way with her elbow and bent over to take her shot. He glanced away before he could stare any more at her, or the men gathering around them would surely notice. Not that he cared, of course. Why _would_ he care? They were probably doing the same thing. "Orange stripe in the side pocket," she announced, and sank her ball with ease. And, he noticed, messing up a couple of easy shots for him. She probably did that on purpose.

"Even if you screw up my shots, I still think I've got a win in the bag, Lyra," he said as she moved to a different corner. "But if you're totally confident, I think we ought to make this more interesting."

"How? I'm already up by a thousand points," she said. She stuck out her hip and leaned on her pool cue, and Silver's first thought was _not_ that she looked rather bitchy, but that she actually looked really cute when she was cocky.

"A thousand? I thought it was a hundred."

"You must have lost count, it's a thousand." Lyra aimed and took her shot, but missed her mark. "How interesting are we talking, here? Because believe me, if it's just a money wager, I doubt I'll be very interested. Money is really no option for a Johto Champion, you know."

Of course he knew, she never quit rubbing it in his face when she got the chance! He narrowed his eyes at her. What would throw her off her game so completely that he'd win for sure?

"When my last four balls are on the table, I'll bet you I can sink all four of them at once, and if I can't, I'll never challenge you to a battle again." He perched both hands atop his cue and leaned over them to give Lyra a smug look. "But if I sink them, you have to kiss me."

Lyra did not appear taken aback, but the pink hue in her cheeks deepening by the second gave her away almost immediately. Silver waited while she stood there, and he could see the wheels turning in her head, trying to thing logically around his wager. Not that he actually intended to do it, mind you. It was only to psyche her out, of course! Every man watching their game was waiting with baited breath, half of whom believed Lyra would obviously win if she had beaten _them_, and the other half throughly convinced that if Silver dared make such a wager, he knew something they didn't about winning. Finally, Lyra spoke,

"And I still get my money?" she asked. Silver nodded and Lyra stuck out her hand, as if she wouldn't accept if she didn't shake _right now_. "Fine. I don't want you to leave forever without me at least getting _something_ out of it."

"You'll be getting something out of it, I can promise you," he replied as the men watching their game all went up in a rousing cheer that meant if the game hadn't been worth watching then, it would be now. Silver bent over the table and made a shot, but he didn't focus too much on getting his ball in. After all, he needed to have four left anyway, what fun would it be to get there sooner?

It was much more fun to watch Lyra try to keep her composure anyway. He was much better at masking what he was thinking than she was, which probably nonplussed her even more. She scratched much more often, and he could see her hands shaking occasionally. But eventually, she stood back from the table, hands on her hips, and a smug look on her face. Though, he noted, she was still shaking.

"There. Four balls left. Still think you can do it? Or maybe you should just hand over my money right now?"

A couple of the men around them snickered, but Silver straightened up and waltzed around the table. "The better question is why you're not putting on your makeup, Lyra. I'm not going to kiss something ugly, after all." The onlookers all made low whistles as Lyra gave him a glare, which turned to a look of fear as he bent over the table, stick in hand, aiming at the cue ball. He gave he a backwards glance. ""Last chance to call off the bet, Lyra."

The girl puffed up. She was too stubborn to ever back out of anything, he knew for a fact. But even as she shook her head, he could see the suspense mounting in her before she covered her eyes with her hands and spun around, too scared to watch him. He shot.

One _clack_. Everyone was silent.

A second _clack_. The men made low murmurs among themselves.

A third _clack_. The murmurs rose, then fell to complete silence, as if the entire Game Corner was leaning in to watch the game. Then -

Lyra heard the fourth ball fall into a pocket and spun around to see Silver standing there with his cue at his side and a smug look plastered on his face while the men around them went up in choruses of whoops and hollers and high-fives and back-slaps. Her jaw dropped and Silver took that moment to line up and shoot the cue ball into a pocket, which roused the audience into another round of cheers. Silver didn't say anything, just pulled out his wallet, dropped a few bills into Lyra's hands, tossed his stick onto the table, and walked out of the game corner.

She hadn't spoken since she had spun around to keep from watching him make his four-ball shot, but it wasn't as if she had any words to say, anyway. The crowd dispersed and went back to their respective games, but Lyra continued to stand there, dumbfounded, with a wad of bills in her hands. He hadn't gloated, he hadn't rubbed it in her face that he had finally beaten her at something, he'd just handed her her prize money and left.

But...

Lyra made a beeline for the door and marched out into the salty breezes of Goldenrod that coupled nicely with the wash of moonlight over everything. Any other day, she would have stopped to enjoy the sound of the waves lapping at the rocks on the coastline, but she just ran out into the main street, looking both ways and finding a boy with red hair and a dark jacket, hands shoved deep into his pockets, making his way out of the city towards Ilex Forest. She took off at a run and surprised him when she caught up and stood in front of him, then put her hands on her waist as she stopped to catch her breath. Surprisingly, he waited patiently for her to calm down.

"You... didn't count my winnings right," she said. "You owe me some."

Silver raised an eyebrow and took the bills from her hand, then counted them into her palm again. She had been paid correctly, down to the dollar. An amused smile crossed his face.

"Oh... I must have miscounted..."

"Why Lyra, whatever would make you want to run after me after you lost so spectacularly back there? Especially when your very obvious excuse didn't even hold to be true." Her brown eyes were filled with bright silver reflections of the starry sky when she looked up at him, her face a dark red, but her expression stubborn.

"We made a bet. And... I lost." She scuffed her toe in the dirt. "And I don't need you hanging it over my head every time we meet again, so you win. You get to kiss me." She closed her eyes and leaned forward, her eyebrows meeting together in the middle of her forehead as if doing this pained her. After a few moments of nothing happening, she opened one eye. "Well? What's the hold up? Just do it already!"

"Lyra," Silver closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "I cheated. I didn't really sink the fourth ball, I put that one in myself. And since I cheated, I don't plan on following through with my bet, it's completely void."

Silver watched a surge of emotions flood through her eyes. At first, was astounded that he had _purposely_ sunk the fourth ball in order to win the bet to kiss her. Then the became enraged that he would cheat! But then it became disappointed, as if she had been secretly been wishing he _would_ have kissed her anyway.

"Why would you do that if you don't want to kiss me anyway?" There was a hint of hurt in her voice. Maybe he really _did_ think she was ugly? "And why tell me?"

He wouldn't look her in the eye. And he was finding it increasingly harder to keep himself from turning pink like her. "It wasn't because I _wanted_ to kiss you," he assured her. "It's because you're my rival. And as much as I hated you when we first stared out, I don't now." Since when did he go about being honest about what he was thinking? What was she doing to him? "And if I never talked to you again, I don't know what would happen. You've done some good stuff for me, even if I'm still not strong enough to beat you. It wasn't about getting to kiss you, it was about preventing the other half of the bet from happening. I only came up with the kissing part to psyche you out."

He'd failed, he felt his face heat up a little. He felt Lyra's eyes on him, he felt how close they had become, standing there in the street together, felt how much faster his heart had begun to beat, felt how heavy the moonlight felt as it fell on them.

"It was about both for me," she said quietly.

And now, to add to the ensemble, Silver felt a stunned silence settle over them both. He looked sharply down at her, and saw that she was looking up at him almost hopefully. It was something in her eyes, it had to be. If she had any others, he wouldn't have cared one way or the other _what_ she'd said. But a piece of his old self came back for a moment and he smirked.

"Well then, who am I to disappoint? After all, I _did_ win the bet." Before he could stop himself and tell himself it was a bad idea and that he didn't even _like_ his rival, he pulled her in to a hug, tilted her chin u with one hand, and kissed her full on the mouth.

Somewhere between the fireworks display behind his closed eyelids, some mocking voice told him to get over himself, he really did like her and to stop being a pansy about it. So for once, he did. He enjoyed the hug, the kiss, the feel of her lips against his, her smell, how her athletic figure was better than some curvy receptionist any day. All of this made it much harder for him to pull away, but when he did, Lyra giggled.

"Silver?"

"Mmm?"

"I cheated also."

He pulled his head back and raised one eyebrow. "How did _you_ cheat?"

She held up the wad of bills still in her hand and waved it around a little. "You were right, I only won a hundred, not a thousand."

**A/N: I don't pretend to be an expert in billiards, I've played it maybe seven times in my life, the last time was almost four years ago, and I've never learned how to keep score. But I doubt many of you are reading this for the accuracy of my billiards game.**


End file.
